1 Observe how the trees clothe themselves in green leaves and produce fruit: therefore, pay attention and understand all His creations, and realize how the Eternal One has made them so. 2 And all His works continue year after year forever, and all the tasks they perform for Him, and their tasks do not change, but happen just as God has decreed. 3 And see how the sea and the rivers also fulfill their tasks unchangingly according to His commands. 4 But you have not remained faithful, nor have you obeyed the Lord's commandments. Instead, you have turned away and spoken arrogantly and harshly with your impure mouths against His greatness. Oh, you stubborn-hearted, you will find no peace. 5 Therefore, you will curse your own days, and the years of your life will vanish, and the years of your doom will increase in eternal condemnation, and you will find no mercy. 6 In those days, your names will become a curse forever to all the righteous, and all who curse will use your name, and all the sinners and the godless will swear by your name. 7 And all the righteous will rejoice, and there will be forgiveness of sins, and every kind of mercy and peace and tolerance: There will be salvation for them, a splendid light. And for you sinners, there will be no salvation, but a curse will remain on you all.

The Sages taught in a baraita (Tosefta, Sota 3:10): The generation of the flood became haughty and sinned due only to the excessive goodness that the Holy One, Blessed be He, bestowed upon them. And what is written concerning them, indicating that goodness? “Their houses are safe without fear, nor is the rod of God upon them” (Job 21:9). And it is written: “Their bull sires, and will not fall; their cow calves, and does not cast her calf” (Job 21:10). And it is written: “They send forth their little ones like a flock, and their children dance” (Job 21:11). And it is written: “They sing to the timbrel and harp, and rejoice at the sound of the pipe” (Job 21:12). And it is written: “They shall spend their days in prosperity, and their years in pleasures” (Job 36:11). And it is written: “And peacefully they go down to the grave” (Job 21:13). And that success caused them to say to God: “Depart from us; for we desire not the knowledge of Your ways. What is the Almighty, that we should serve Him, and what profit should we have if we pray unto Him” (Job 21:14–15). The members of the generation of the flood said: Do we need Him for anything, even for the drop of rain that He causes to fall? We have rivers and springs from which we take our supply of water; we do not fear Him. The Holy One, Blessed be He, said: With the goodness that I bestowed upon them, with that they infuriate Me and with it I will sentence them, as it is stated: “And behold I will bring the flood of water” (Genesis 6:17). Rabbi Yosei says: The generation of the flood became haughty due only to the covetousness of the eyeball, which is similar to water, as it is stated: “And the sons of the prominent men saw that the daughters of men were fair; and they took for themselves wives from anyone they chose” (Genesis 6:2). Consequently, God punished them with water, which is similar to an eyeball [legalgal ha’ayin], as it is stated: “All the fountains [mayenot] of the great deep were breached, and the flues of heaven were opened” (Genesis 7:11). Rabbi Yoḥanan says: The members of the generation of the flood sinned with “great” and were punished with “great.” They sinned with “great,” as it is stated: “And the Lord saw that the wickedness of man was great” (Genesis 6:5). And they were punished with great, as it is stated: “All the fountains of the great deep were breached” (Genesis 7:11). Rabbi Yoḥanan says: Three fountains of the great deep that were breached in the flood remained, and boiling water continues to flow in them as it did during the flood. They are: Beloa of Gader, and the hot springs of Tiberias, and the great spring of Beiram. With regard to the verse: “For all flesh had corrupted its way upon the earth” (Genesis 6:12), Rabbi Yoḥanan says: This teaches that the people of the generation of the flood mated male domesticated animals with female undomesticated animals, and male undomesticated animals with female domesticated animals, and all male animals with human females, and human males with all female animals. Rabbi Abba bar Kahana says: And after the flood all of the creatures returned to mate with their own species, except for the bird called tushlami, which continued to mate with other species. With regard to the verse: “And God said to Noah: The end of all flesh is come before Me, for the earth is filled with robbery through them, and behold, I will destroy them with the earth” (Genesis 6:13), Rabbi Yoḥanan says: Come and see how great is the power of robbery, as the generation of the flood violated every precept, but their sentence to be destroyed was not sealed until they extended their hands and engaged in robbery, as it is stated: “For the earth is filled with robbery through them, and behold, I will destroy them with the earth” (Genesis 6:13). And it is written: “Robbery is risen up into a rod of wickedness; nothing comes from them, nor from their multitude, nor from any of them, nor shall there be wailing [no’ah] for them” (Ezekiel 7:11). Rabbi Elazar says: This teaches that robbery straightened itself like a rod and stood before the Holy One, Blessed be He, and said before Him: Master of the Universe: “Nothing comes from them, nor from their multitude, nor from any of them, nor shall there be wailing for them,” i.e., none of the robbers are fit to exist. And the sentence of Noah was also sealed; he was going to die with the rest of the generation of the flood, as it is stated: Nor shall there be No’aḥ for them. The Gemara interprets the term spelled nun, heh, in the aforementioned verse, as if it were spelled nun, ḥet. The school of Rabbi Yishmael taught: The sentence of Noah was also decided; but he was spared through the kindness of God due to the fact that he found favor in the eyes of God, as it is stated: “For I regret that I have made them. And Noah found favor in the eyes of the Lord” (Genesis 6:7–8). The juxtaposition of the term “and Noah” to the phrase “for I regret that I have made them” indicates that Noah should have been killed as well. It is written: “Vayyinaḥem the Lord that He made man on the earth [ba’aretz]” (Genesis 6:6). The meaning of the term “vayyinaḥem” is subject to a dispute. When Rav Dimi came from Eretz Yisrael to Babylonia, he said in explanation: The Holy One, Blessed be He, said: I did well that I prepared graves for people in the earth [ba’aretz]. The Gemara asks: From where is it inferred that the term “vayyinaḥem” has a positive connotation? The Gemara answers: It is written here: “Vayyinaḥem,” and it is written there: “And he comforted them [vayenaḥem otam] and spoke to their heart” (Genesis 50:21). And there are those who say that the term “vayyinaḥem” has a different meaning: I did not do well that I prepared graves for people in the earth, as I should not have created them in order to destroy them. From where is it inferred that the term “vayyinaḥem” has a negative connotation? It is written here: “Vayyinaḥem,” and it is written there: “And the Lord regretted [vayyinaḥem] the evil that He thought to do to His people” (Exodus 32:14). § With regard to the verse: “These are the generations of Noah; Noah was a righteous man, and wholehearted in his generations” (Genesis 6:9), Rabbi Yoḥanan says: Relative to the other people of his generation he was righteous and wholehearted, but not relative to those of other generations. And Reish Lakish says: In his generation he was righteous and wholehearted despite being surrounded by bad influences; all the more so would he have been considered righteous and wholehearted in other generations.